Love in the Time of War
by areyousiriuspadfoot
Summary: Sometimes life takes unexpected turns and just when you thought that you couldn't be happier, everything falls apart. Sometimes the opposite happens and, when you are a your lowest, someone can pull you up again. (Muggle WW2 AU)
1. Chapter 1

Marlene McKinnon lit up her cigarette and placed it between her red lips. On her right hand there was a pencil and on the table, a small notebook, a glass of gin and her hat. She had been sitting there all evening, drawing.

She always found comfort on that place; the murmur of the people, the smoke, it just didn't make her feel so alone. Ever since her fiancée, Andrew Livingston, died in a car crash, she had avoided being alone at her house. Marlene spent time with her friends, with her family or just in bars.

The place was crowded, full of couples and single men and women flirting. Almost everyone was smoking and some were dancing to jazz joyfully.

Marlene sighed and took a long drag of her cigarette; the end of it was red due to her lipstick. She kept on drawing, tracing random lines that become her hat and her glass of gin. At some moment she crossed her legs, leaned back against her chair and stared blankly at the table.

Flashes of memories of her and Andrew played across her mind and, almost as a reflex, she finished her gin. He had died almost a year ago but she was still miserable; Marlene had never been a person who let go things easily.

"Want another gin?" the waiter asked.

She blinked and looked up, "yes, please".

The man nodded and left with her empty glass.

 _"_ _Dear God, Lena, aren't you tired of being so beautiful? Isn't it exhausting?" Andrew asked as he removed a string of her hair away from her face._

 _Marlene blushed and bit her lower lip shyly, "oh, shut up" she said and slapped his arm playfully._

 _"_ _I'm serious, you really are" he smiled honestly. "You know what it would make you even more beautiful?"_

 _"_ _What?" she asked in disbelief, but obviously feeling flattered by his compliments._

 _Andrew took a small velvet box from his pocket and opened it in front of her eyes. "Wearing this engagement ring", he commented casually but with his heart beating wildly._

 _It took a while for Marlene to realize that he was actually proposing. She gasped in surprise and looked at him in shock. "Andrew…"_

 _"_ _What do you say? Do you want to be my wife? I need someone who can make me look pretty" he teased nervously._

 _She chuckled and pressed her fingers under her eyes. "Yes" she grinned, "God, yes!"_

 _Andrew's lips curved into a wide and honest smile that only made Marlene threw herself to him and kiss him deeply._

The glass of gin was already in front of her; she took a small sip and sighed. Her blue eyes focused on a couple that was dancing happily; he was making her spin while the girl laughed and then rested her cheek on her partner's shoulder.

 _"_ _Andrew! You are a terrible dancer" Marlene laughed._

 _The man gave her a look. "Well, I can't be perfect… I left that trait for you, love", he smirked._

 _"_ _You need to learn, our waltz has to be flawless", Marlene stated and then leaned forward to kiss him briefly._

Her glass was already half empty. She opened her notebook again and searched for a blank page. Once she found it, she started drawing again: nothing in particular, just random figures. Ever since she was a little girl, Marlene loved to draw and paint. Because her family was immensely rich, she received the proper education and eventually ended up studying arts at college.

After Andrew died, she channelized her sadness into her art. She drew and painted every single day. Funny how during those moments of deep misery, she found herself more inspired than ever. Marlene took the final drag of her cigarette and turned it off.

Her right hand was now sketching a rose, with thorns and everything.

 _"_ _You think you could draw me?" He asked teasingly, running his fingers through the length of her arm._

 _Marlene rolled her eyes, she hated when people asked her that. "I think I have one here…" she mumbled and looked between her sketches, "aha! Here it is!" She exclaimed and gave him_

 _the drawing._

 _Andrew took the paper and bursted into laughter, "I think you made my ears a bit small, love" he said teasingly, pointing at the long ears of the bloodhound._

 _"_ _I actually think you look lovely", she smirked._

Why couldn't she move on from him? Why was it so bloody hard? Marlene took another sip of her drink and sighed.

"That's a nice drawing" a male voice said, pointing his finger at her notebook.

She lifted up her gaze and blinked stunned, it was as if she had seen a ghost. The man was so similar to Andrew that her blood turned cold. He had a charming smile and black hair as well, but his eyes were different: whereas Andrew's were green, this man's eyes were grey.

"Thank you" she said, still blinking in shock.

The man smiled, "can I sit here?"

Marlene was so stunned by his looks that merely nodded. She took out another cigarette and, automatically, the man pulled out his lighter and lit it before he lit his.

"Did you know that it's bad luck to place a hat on the table?" the man commented casually before taking a long drag of his own cigarette.

She shrugged, "I'm not superstitious".

He tilted his head and studied her curiously, "good for you… I'm Sirius".

"Marlene"

Sirius smiled and blew out the smoke, "tell me, Marlene, why are you here all by yourself?"

She took a deep breath and a sip of her gin that was now running out. "I like it here"

"You come often?" he asked and then stopped a waiter "bring me a scotch and another gin for the lady".

"Yeah" she nodded, "I do".

They remained in silence until the waiter came with their drinks. Marlene felt so intimidated by the similarity between Sirius and Andrew. Even though she hated to admitted, she couldn't help to feel a bit attracted to him; of course it clearly was because he looked just like her former fiancée.

He didn't speak, instead, he hummed softly. He seemed so relaxed and comfortable that Marlene found it rather strange.

Suddenly, she felt like she shouldn't be there. She felt as if she was betraying him. Marlene finished her glass in just one shot and stood up rather abruptly. "I'm sorry, I… I have to go, nice to meet you, Sirius", she said quickly as she turned off her cigarette and put on her hat.

Marlene left without looking back.

 _Andrew was on a business trip and he insisted on going to Manchester by car and not train like Marlene had suggested. He loved driving; he always said that it cleared his mind._

 _She was painting; her hands were red and black._

 _The doorbell rang._

 _She placed the brush inside the mug filled with red painting and opened the door: two police officers where there, both of them had their hats on their hands and serious expressions._

 _"_ _Is your name, Marlene McKinnon, Miss?"_

 _"_ _Yes, is something wrong, officer?"_

 _"_ _Are you familiar with the man Andrew Livingston?" one of them asked._

 _She nodded suspiciously, "he's my fiancée, why you ask?"_

 _"_ _There was a car accident… he was found dead, Miss… you were the only contact we could find", the tallest one explained._

 _It took her a while to realize it. Marlene shook her head, "no, you are wrong… he… he can't be dead"._

 _The other officer sighed, "I'm afraid he is, Miss McKinnon"._

The minute she entered her house, Marlene turned on the radio. She couldn't stand being alone with her thoughts.

"There's still a lot of controversy regarding the last Olympic Games held in Berlin. Did Hitler really refuse to shake hands with American athlete, Jesse Owens?"

"Well, he certainly didn't shake hands with him… now the question is: what kind of message did Hitler want to send to the world with that gesture?"

Marlene turned up the volume and walked to her bedroom. She got undressed and put on her night gown before heading to the kitchen. She sat on a chair and lit a cigarette.

The radio was still talking about Hitler but she couldn't care less, her mind was on Andrew and on this man, Sirius. How was that even possible? She knew that she had to move on, to go back to her social life and maybe even date someone. Marlene was positive that it was what Andrew would have wanted, but why was it so hard?

The rain started falling and the sound of a thunder light made her cringe. She turned off her cigarette and the radio before going back to her bedroom. She brushed her teeth, combed her hair and got into bed. With a lump on her throat, Marlene stretched out her arm and turned off the light.

It took her a while but eventually, she fell asleep hearing the sound of the pouring rain and, on the back of her mind, Andrew's heartbeat.


	2. Chapter 2

Marlene stared quietly through the window of her brother's car. She and Mark were going to a New Years Eve party held at James Potter parents' house. The Potters had always been Marlene's family oldest friends and James, was her best friend of all time. She loved him like a brother but unfortunately, she hadn't seen him in a long time.

She couldn't help to think that a year ago she was in another car, and that the driver wasn't her brother Mark but her fiancée. She was going to introduce Andrew to the Potters and of course, it was a success: everyone loved him. How couldn't they? He was such a sweetheart and a nice person.

A tired sigh escaped her lips and Marlene bundled up even more on her coat. She folded her arms tightly against her chest and rested her head on the glass. Her eyes were set on the window, she was so immerse on her own thoughts that couldn't help to flinch when she felt Mark's hand on her arm.

"Sorry", he apologized and removed his hand quickly.

Marlene shook her head, "don't worry… I was lost in thought, what did you say?"

"I was saying that my coat is on the back seat if you're cold", he said with his eyes fixed on the road.

"Oh… yeah, thank you"

The girl turned around and grabbed the black coat and covered herself with it.

"How are you?" he asked seriously.

"Fine", she shrugged.

"We both know that's a bunch of rubbish and we will talk about this tomorrow and not now only because it's New Year's Eve".

Marlene didn't reply, instead she looked away and fixed her gaze on the window. There wasn't too much to see since it was dark, but it was better than actually talking. She knew her brother wasn't stupid but of course, it wasn't too hard to notice that she wasn't exactly having a good time.

She let out a puff of air and said, "I'll be fine, don't worry about me".

"I always worry", Mark replied and squeezed her thigh affectionately.

Marlene smiled slightly, "talking about worrying… I'm afraid you'll get no girlfriend with me as your date".

The man snorted. "Please, if I wanted a girlfriend, I would already have one. Besides, you are a decent date", he teased.

"Decent?" She arched an eyebrow and then noticed the lights of old Potter Manor in front of her.

Mark smirked and pulled over. "Yeah, pretty decent".

"You are an idiot", Marlene chuckled and punched him playfully.

"Oi! Don't be rude!" He laughed while parking next to a luxurious black car.

Her sister gave him his coat and both got out of the car. Marlene fixed her dress and bundled up with her own fur coat, it was freezing. Mark wrapped his arm around his sister's shoulders and both started walking towards the Potter Manor.

"It's been a long time… can't believe we'll be staying at mum and dad's tonight" Mark mumbled before pressing the doorbell.

"Yeah" she replied quietly not entirely thrilled about that idea.

Last year, Andrew had booked a lovely suite in a fancy hotel at the outskirts of Edinburgh. They spent the whole night drinking champagne from the bottle, eating chocolates and snogging the hell out of each other. Out of impulse, Marlene fixed her hair before the door opened in front of them.

An elegant woman with dark hair, hazel eyes, a fancy black dress and a glass of champagne on her left hand was smiling at them. She hugged Marlene first and the girl knew that it wasn't just a common hug, no, it was more than that. It was a pity hug too.

"How are you, Marley?" the woman asked kindly.

Marlene smiled forcefully, "I'm fine Dorea, how are you?"

"Oh, I'm fine, same as always… you know me" the woman chuckled and then hugged Mark. "It's been a long time since you've been here… we have missed you… well, come in… everyone is here!"

The siblings followed Dorea through a long corridor. The walls were made out of wood and there were several paintings and mirrors hanged. They left their coats on a special room and continued to the dining room, where all the guests were.

Jazz was playing loudly; everyone was drinking, chatting and smoking. Marlene, whose hand was clenched to her brother's elbow, recognized several familiar faces. Unconsciously, she moved closer to him; it was as if she was in hostile ground even though she was among family.

She tried to put a straight face and greeted everyone Mark greeted and smiled forcefully to the strangers: many of them men who looked at her as if she was fresh meat.

"There's James, let's go and say hi" Mark suggested knowing that his sister wanted to get the hell out of there.

Marlene nodded somewhat relieved. She knew she was acting like a scared child but she couldn't help it even if she tried. She didn't want to be there, she just wanted to be home and drowning herself on gin.

"Well, look who is here!" James exclaimed happily and hugged Mark tightly, "great to see you, mate!"

"Hi, I'm Lily… James fiancée" a red haired woman said to Marlene.

Her eyes were bright green and she had a few freckles on her face. Lily was wearing a fancy grey dress that brought the best of her features.

Marlene blinked and then smiled politely, "nice to meet you… I'm Marlene".

"I know" Lily smiled kindly, "James told me a lot about you".

"Oh" she replied, not sure what else to say.

"All good stuff, I promise" James interrupted and kissed Marlene's cheek, "it's good to see you, love".

"Jamie" Marlene smiled fondly even though there was a glimpse of sadness on it, "congratulations on your engagement".

"Thanks darling", he replied and grabbed two glasses of gin from the closest table and handed one to Marlene, "here, you look thirsty".

She merely nodded, "cheers".

The four of them chatted for a while and then Marlene and Mark went to greet their parents and siblings. All of them were with their respective partners and there she was, with her _brother_ as her date. How pathetic was that?

"Excuse me" Marlene said and walked to the closest waiter and grabbed another glass of gin.

She avoided every single person who wanted to talk to her – especially those hungry wolves – and went somewhere quiet.

The Potter Manor was as big as her own house, with endless corridors and plenty of bedrooms. Eventually, she ended in a small balcony that a room on the second floor had. Marlene lighted up a cigarette and took a long drag, letting the cold air clear out her mind.

She tried, she really did, but ever since Andrew died, everything was painful or, if she was in a rather good day, dull. A tired sigh escaped her lips and her fingers traveled straight to her forehead and then to the pearls that were hanging from her neck.

As she smoked quietly, Marlene noticed how she could see her house across the lawn and she couldn't help to smile fondly at the old memories that the big garden brought: she and James playing hide and seek or just running freely around it.

Good Lord, how much time it passed! Those memories seemed so old. Many things had happened since then: the Great War, the collapse of Wall Street, Andrew…

"Oh, forgive me… I didn't know this room was occupied"

Marlene flinched and turned around quickly. She couldn't help to blink in shock, what the hell was he doing there?

"Forgive me, I didn't want to scare you" the man apologized honestly, noticing how nervous she seemed to be. "I'll search another room" he said after a brief moment of awkward silence.

She didn't know what got into her but before she could even realize, she shook her head. "No, you can stay".

"It wasn't my intention to interrupt your thoughts… I'll leave"

"No, please, stay" Marlene insisted.

Truth be told: she didn't want to be _completely_ alone.

Sirius nodded and walked towards the balcony. He took out a cigarette for himself and lighted it up.

"Why are you here?" she asked after a long moment of silence.

He looked at her for a moment and admired her beauty. Her blonde hair passed slightly her shoulders, her deep blue eyes were looking at him curiously and between her red lips was her cigarette. Her white skin looked like porcelain and Sirius had a hard time trying to restrain himself from touching it.

"I'm James' friend" he shrugged "what about you?"

Marlene nodded and then looked away. His similarity with Andrew was just too impressive.

"I'm James oldest friend"

He arched his eyebrows. "I didn't know this was a competition" said Sirius teasingly.

Marlene bit her lower lip and her cheeks turned pink immediately. "It wasn't my intention" she mumbled and looked down at her nails rather embarrassed.

"I know it wasn't… I'm just teasing you" he smiled kindly and took another drag of his cigarette.

She blew out the smoke slowly and then took another drag.

Marlene studied him for a moment: yes, he did look like Andrew, but he wasn't as similar as she remembered. Sirius seemed to be more relaxed than her former fiancée who was always very formal. There was also his posture; Sirius irradiated confidence whereas Andrew – even though he never asked for it – seemed to always be seeking for her approval. And of course, there was the mystery: Andrew was an open book; Marlene always knew what he was thinking but not with Sirius but that could be because she didn't know him at all.

"I'm sorry… about last time" she said truthfully "about running away like that… I reckon it wasn't very polite".

He looked at her curiously and then smiled. "Don't worry… we all have shitty days"

 _Yeah, more like shitty months._ "Anyway… sorry"

Sirius turned off his cigarette and turned to face her, he rested the weight of his body on the arm that was on the balcony rail and a slight smirk spread across his face. "Why don't we start over?" he asked casually and stretched out his hand, "hello, I'm Sirius Black".

Marlene couldn't help to let out a soft chuckle; she shook her head in disbelief and stretched out her hand as well, "alright then… nice to meet you, Sirius. I'm Marlene McKinnon".

The man pulled slightly from her hand and kissed it, "a real pleasure".

The air got stuck in the middle of her throat and for some reason, this stranger – who wasn't _that_ stranger after all – made her heart beat so fast that she could actually feel her blood running faster through her veins.

Reluctantly, Sirius let go of her hand. "Shall we go downstairs? I reckon we'll miss all the Hitler chit chat".

"Ah, classic Hitler chit chat" she nodded with a shy smile "we can't miss that".


	3. Chapter 3

Perhaps it was the New Year, or maybe the change of air, but ever since the year started, Marlene felt slightly better and sometimes, even cheerful.

It was the beginning of her final semester and, after that, she was going to graduate. Her future was quite uncertain but exciting. Money wasn't an issue but she wanted to do something with her life. Maybe open an art gallery? Expose her art? Work in a museum? There were so many possibilities.

"Miss McKinnon?" the professor called her.

"Yes, Sir?"

The man took his time and scanned her upside down hungrily and Marlene couldn't help to feel her own bile also going upside down. "You did a great job today" he said, giving her a meaningful look.

"Thank you, Sir" she replied dryly and held onto her briefcase, "is there anything else?"

"No" the old man said rather disappointed but still looking at her as if she was fresh meat, "you can leave now".

Marlene nodded and walked away as fast as she could, feeling the man's stare in her ass. It wasn't the first time it happened and, unfortunately, she was sure it wasn't going to be the last one. Andrew didn't like him either, so he always made sure to be waiting for her at the end of the lessons. But of course, Andrew was gone now; no one was going to wait for her anymore so she better get used to it.

"Hey, Marley!" a female voice called her.

She stopped and turned around. "Doe" she smiled fondly at her best friend.

Dorcas Meadowes has been Marlene's best friend since she moved to London. They were roommates for a while but then she moved out. Dorcas was the type of person who will always push you to do reckless things; things that you'll probably regret the following day but, at the moment, you'd enjoy.

Marlene was nothing but grateful to her friend, she was one of the only people she allowed to comfort her when Andrew died. In fact, when Dorcas found out, she moved in with Marlene for a couple of weeks and refused to leave her side.

"How are you? God, it feels like I haven't seen you in ages!" the girl said and tangled her arm with her friend's.

"It was just a week, Dorcas" Marlene rolled her eyes but giggled as she hanged the strap of her briefcase on her shoulder.

"Well, it's great to know that you missed me as well", Dorcas snorted and stepped out of the building.

"You are such a drama queen… I'm going to start calling you Princess Elizabeth" she teased.

Dorcas laughed. "Princess Doe is fine by me" she smirked but then frowned.

"What's wrong?" Marlene asked and stopped walking, "is everything alright?"

The girl half smiled smugly and then whispered "I think you have an admirer".

"What? Don't be ridiculous" Marlene rolled her eyes "the engineering students are always staring at us".

"Oh, but this is no student… this one is better, a real man if you ask me, and he's looking at you… I'm talking about that handsome one smoking a cigarette over there".

"Jesus Christ! Don't point at him, you idiot, or he'll come over! Come on Dorcas, let's go… I don't need nor want anything of that"

"Oh, never mind… he's coming here anyways" the girl smirked. "He's pretty handsome, Mar".

"What?" Marlene whispered nervously.

"He's already here" the girl managed to say quickly.

"Hey" the man said.

Her heart stopped beating for a brief moment. How the hell did he know where she studied? Was he a stalker?

Marlene turned around very slowly and met Sirius Black's handsome face. He was smiling at her and had a bouquet of white flowers on his hand.

"Hi" he said with a charming smile that took Marlene's breath away.

She blinked several times before replying with a pathetic "hi".

"I didn't get the chance to say goodbye during New Years Eve and… well, James told me you studied here" Sirius shrugged and then gave her the bouquet. "I wasn't sure which ones I should buy… but anyway… would you like to join me for lunch?"

His tone was so relaxed and casual that Marlene couldn't help to feel confused.

"She would love to" Dorcas replied instead and patted Marlene on her back. "See you tomorrow, Mar".

She watched her friend leave with incredulity, she then looked at the beautiful flowers he had bought and finally replied, "they are beautiful, thank you".

"I'm glad you like them" he nodded with a cheerful smile and then added "are you hungry? I know a great place near here".

"Look… Sirius… I… it's not that I don't appreciate it but… I'm not ready to date… not yet"

The man sighed rather disappointed, "I know… Dorea told me about it" he said carefully. "We don't have to date… we can be friends if you want to and maybe, when you're ready, and if you want to of course, we can try dating".

How did he manage to be so fucking calm and relaxed?

Marlene took a deep breath and, involuntarily, a glimpse of a smile spread across her lips. "I guess having a new friend could work for now" she finally said. "Where is this restaurant you were saying?"

Sirius smiled pleased and leaded the way. It was a regular cloudy day, but for him, it was as if the sun was shining brightly. He liked her, he really did, and he was willing to wait as long as he had to. It was as if he already knew that she was one of a kind and that he would be a complete idiot if he let her go.

Fortunately, the restaurant wasn't too crowded, just a couple of male students that Marlene had never seen before. He opened the door politely and let her go in first.

"Wanna sit by the window?" she asked.

"Sure"

Marlene walked straight to a table and hanged her camel coat on the back of the chair before sitting down and taking off her hat. Sirius imitated her and sat in front of her. They ordered the meal and then felt silent. She looked at the window distractedly and he looked at her. Her blonde hair barely passed her shoulders, her chin was resting on her hand and her beautiful blue eyes looked rather sad.

"How was class?" he asked kindly.

She blinked rather surprised and looked back at him and shrugged, "fine… I don't like my teacher, but it was okay".

"Oh, you don't? Why?" Sirius asked curiously.

"Because he's an old pig who wants me inside his pants" she stated and took a sip of gin. "He has been hitting on me since day one".

Now he wasn't curious anymore, instead, he frowned. "Have you said 'no'?" he asked seriously.

"Of course I did, that's why it bothers me. I've rejected him like a thousand times"

Sirius sighed and shook his head. "When do you have classes with him?"

"Tuesdays, why?"

He shrugged, "I'm curious".

Marlene eyed him suspiciously but then nodded. A couple of minutes later, the food arrived and they started eating. He was right, it was a good place and the meal was delicious.

"Can I ask you something?" she blurted without thinking it too much.

Sirius looked at her rather surprised but nodded encouragingly.

"How… how did you know?"

"Know about what?" he said confused.

"About… Andrew" Marlene replied and felt a sting of pain when she pronounced his name.

"Oh, um, Dorea told me" he replied awkwardly.

"But why?" she insisted, she was not going to leave that restaurant without an answer.

Sirius set his eyes on her and sighed, "I wanted to know why you looked so miserable all the time" he said quietly.

Marlene blinked several times and her first reaction was to look away. She bit her lower lip and nodded slightly. "I guess I'm not very good at hiding things" she mumbled, looking back at him with a sad smile.

"No one is asking you to hide things, you can't decide how to feel… you just do" he said understandingly and fought the urge to lace his fingers with hers.

She chuckled bitterly, "you know? You are actually the first person who says that… my friends and family insist that I forget about it". Marlene paused and folded her arms against her chest in an attempt to keep herself warm, "so thank you… for saying something different and a bit more accurate".

He smiled kindly, "don't mention it".

Marlene felt her cheeks turning pink and had to look away again. He was nice, really nice; probably nicer than most of the people that she had ever met. Not to mention his good looks; yes, he was really good looking, and charming, and funny.

 _No, stop right there._

The people outside were with their umbrellas out and she couldn't help to let out a quiet groan. "Why does it have to rain all the time?" she asked bitterly.

"Because we live in England" he pointed as his eyes set on a couple sharing a black umbrella, "it rains all the fucking time".

Marlene looked at him stunned and, after a moment, started laughing. Men weren't supposed to swear like that and especially, not in front of women, but she found it absolutely hilarious.

"What?" asked Sirius rather confused but also quite amused.

She just shook her head, "you're funny, that's all".

He frowned curiously, "funny hilarious or funny weird?"

"Funny hilarious" Marlene chuckled slightly and finished her gin.

"Oh, okay, I'm relieved then" he nodded and then smirked.

Sirius enjoyed every single second of that evening. He tried to make her laugh as much as possible, not only because he wanted to make her happy but also because whenever she smiled or laugh, her face lightened up instantly and that made her look even more beautiful than she already was.

When the rain stopped, Sirius walked her home. On their way, he bought her ice cream and they chat about random things. He learned that her favorite color was navy blue and that she loved Van Gogh and Oscar Wilde. Marlene told him about her love for cats and he teased about her being a crazy cat lady to which she replied with a gentle and playful slap on his arm.

"Well, this is me" said Marlene and looked for her keys inside her briefcase, once she found them, she looked at him. "Thank you Sirius, I had a great time".

He smirked and nodded pleasantly, "that's good to hear".

Marlene hesitated on whether kissing his cheek but, in the end, decided not to do it and opened the door, "yeah… I guess I'll see you around".

Sirius smiled and watched as the door closed in front of him. He let out a pleased sigh and walked away.


	4. Chapter 4

Ever since she and Sirius had lunch, Marlene found out that she spent most of her days thinking about him. He was really nice and kind with her, something hard to find in men those days. It was as if he didn't look at her like some trophy wife, no, he looked and treated her like a real person.

If she had to be honest with herself, Marlene thought that she would never see him again because, let's be real, no man would ever accept being friends with a girl. However, she was mistaken. The following week, after being hit on by her professor again, he showed up and took her to have lunch _again_.

During the following four months, every Tuesday, Sirius Black waited for Marlene McKinnon at the entrance of her University and took her to have lunch until it became a pleasant routine. He never did an inappropriate move on her, he just asked about her week, he told her about his week and sometimes, discuss about the current political situation in Europe.

"I don't know what to do, Doe" Marlene sighed tiredly as she let herself fall on her bed.

Dorcas lay down next to her and elbowed her playfully, "you know what to do, you like him… just give him a chance".

"But… I don't know".

"Mar, there's not much to _know._ You like him, he clearly likes you… he's incredibly handsome and kind… give him a chance".

Marlene turned around, buried her face on her pillow and groaned. She knew her friend was right but at the same time it just felt wrong. "I feel like I'm betraying him, Doe", she whispered.

Dorcas let out a puff of air and moved so she could wrap her arms around her friend's body. "But you are not… more than a year has passed… I'm pretty sure Andy wouldn't have wanted you to be alone and miserable… none of us wants that".

"I know… it's just… so hard, I still miss him… but I also like Sirius"

"Mar, love… Andy's not coming back, you should get used to that idea" said Dorcas as she ran her fingers through the length of her friend's arm. "I'm sorry, but that's the way it is… you should try to be happy, and if Sirius makes you feel like that, just give him a chance".

Marlene felt Dorcas' fingers moving from her arm to her hair. She let out a puff of air and remained in silence for a moment. She was right, Andrew was gone and even though it was painful, she had to move on.

"Fine" she sighed "I'll give him a chance".

Dorcas grinned widely. "I'm going to personally select your outfit for the date".

Marlene couldn't help to roll her eyes and snort. "I will pick my own clothes, thank you very much"

"Oh come on! It will be fun!"

"We'll see about that"

The following day, Marlene decided to skip university. She ate breakfast while listening to the radio and, after taking a shower, left her apartment. She took the bus and got off at the entrance of the cemetery Andrew was buried.

It was a rare sunny day and there were more people than usual. Marlene didn't like to go there very much because it just made her sad, but today was a special occasion. She went through the different graves until she reached his. A frustrated sigh escaped her lips as she sat on a small bench and removed her hat.

 _ANDREW THOMAS LIVINGSTON_

 _BELOVED SON AND FRIEND_

 _(1910-1935)_

"Hey" said Marlene to the grey tombstone. "I… I came to say goodbye" she mumbled nervously and then added "I met someone… his name is Sirius and I've already made a horrible pun with his name… the type of pun you would roll your eyes at" she chuckled. "I think you would like him… he's a really nice man and he comes to pick me up every Tuesday and takes me to have lunch… just like you did" Marlene smiled sadly.

She made a long pause and then sighed. "We would've been married by now and I would probably be pregnant as well, but now… now I'm just about to go and do one of the wildest things a woman could ever do… I am going to ask him out… you think it's crazy? Because I certainly do".

Marlene noticed how an old woman was staring at her curiously and immediately, looked down. "There's someone looking at me as if I was some lunatic person" she giggled. "Maybe I am a bit crazy… that's what you always said anyways".

She remained in silence for a long time, just enjoying the warm spring breeze. It was such a beautiful day that Marlene couldn't help to take it as a good sign. She then gasped and started removing her bag until she took out a piece of paper.

"I didn't buy flowers but I brought something I thought you would enjoy more" said Marlene and kneeled on the ground. She placed a folded piece of paper under a small rock. "It's a drawing of you… no bloodhound ears, I promise" she explained with a slight smirk as she got up again and shook off the dirt of her skirt.

"You will always be in my heart and I will never forget you", Marlene smiled sadly and took one last glance at the tombstone, "goodbye, Andy".

It was as if a big weigh was lifted from her body. She walked away from the cemetery and headed straight to the bus stop. Once she got into the bus and sat down, she took out a small pocket mirror from her bag and made sure she was looking okay.

She got off an hour later. The center of London always intimidated her, it was always so crowded but she kind of loved it. Marlene walked towards the building Sirius worked and got in.

"May I help you, Miss?" a receptionist asked politely.

Marlene cleared her throat and nodded, "yes, please… I'm looking for Sirius Black".

"Oh, do you have an appointment?" the woman asked, scanning her upside down.

She shook her head "no, I'm afraid I don't".

"Let me see if he's available" the receptionist said reluctantly and walked away.

Marlene would be lying if she didn't admit her insights were twisting with agony. She was nervous and what she was about to do was mental, bloody mental; she shouldn't be doing that, he was supposed to ask her out, not the other way around.

 _But how would he know that you want that unless you tell him?_

Her eyes scanned the place. It was a very fancy and ancient building with tall marble walls. There was a statue, three paintings hanged in different walls and a big mirror with an expensive frame.

When the receptionist appeared again, Marlene's heart was pumping furiously and she felt like she was going to faint.

"It's the last office of the corridor" the woman said bitterly before sitting down.

She nodded and walked towards Sirius' office. Marlene tried to breathe properly as the door at the end of the hallway became bigger. When she arrived, she took one last deep breath and knocked softly before straightening up her jacket.

The door opened and Marlene met Sirius' curious eyes. "Hey" he said frowning rather surprised and moved aside to let her in.

"Hey" she mumbled awkwardly and walked into the office.

"Sit down" he offered but then his frown deepened when she shook her head. "Is everything okay?" he asked with concern.

"Yeah" Marlene nodded and then fixed her eyes on a painting that was on a wall. "I love Monet", she mumbled distractedly, "it's nice even if it's a replica".

He followed her gaze and nodded, still uncertain of what she was doing there. "Is everything okay?"

She looked back at him and smiled nervously, "yes… I… I wanted to tell you something and it couldn't wait until Tuesday".

Sirius nodded suspiciously, "okay… what is it?"

Marlene opened her mouth but then closed it only to open it again "I want to go on a date with you" she blurted and then paused for a brief moment. She had already started, she couldn't possibly stop there. "A real date… I want you to take me out for dinner to a nice place… I want you to flirt with me and I want to flirt with you… then you'll walk me home and ask me out again".

Her heart was beating wildly and her body was shaking slightly. When she finished her speech, Marlene felt her cheeks turning scarlet red.

His frown slowly changed into an amazed smile. Sirius couldn't help to think how adorable she was. "Are you asking me out, Marlene?" he said teasingly.

"No, I'm just saying that I want _you_ to ask me out"

Sirius smirked and nodded. "Okay… would you like to go on a date with me?"

"Yes" she replied too quickly and blushed deeper.

His smirk widened even more, "alright… it's a date then… tomorrow sounds good?"

Marlene just nodded and looked at her fingers that were fidgeting rather nervously.

"Shall I pick you up at 7 o'clock?" he asked kindly.

She looked up with a tiny smile and nodded, "okay". Marlene bit her lower lip shyly and looked back at the painting.

Sirius just stared at her, not bothering on hiding his idiotic smile. He could literally feel his chest swelling with pride: she had accepted to go on a date with him.

"I think I should go now… I don't want you to get into trouble... you have work to do" Marlene muttered slightly embarrassed and turned around to face him, her cheeks were still pink but her heart was beating normally again.

"Okay" he replied rather disappointed but still smiling.

She hesitated at first, but then she leaned forward and pecked his cheek briefly. "Good bye, Sirius. I'll see you tomorrow".

"Can't wait" he smiled honestly and opened the door for her.

Marlene take one last glace at him and walked away with a wide grin on her face: she did it.


	5. Chapter 5

She took one last glance at the mirror after applying her red lipstick. It's been a long time since she went on a proper date. What if she screwed it up? What if it turned out to be a disaster?

"Everything is going to be fine, Mar", Dorcas reassured her for the millionth time before taking a sip of her drink. "Besides, you've already been on several dates with him".

Marlene shook her head and turn around to face her friend. "No, it's not the same… we went out as friends… now we're supposed to _flirt_ ".

"Come on, I bet he has been flirting with you all this time and you didn't even notice it"

"That's not helping, Dorcas" she snapped nervously and grabbed her jewelry box.

The girl rolled her eyes, "look, all I'm saying is that you're thinking too much about it… relax, you've already gone out with him, you know him and he's nice… stop worrying".

"It's easy for you to say… you're always so confident"

"Please, you asked this man out! There's not a single girl who had ever done that, not even me" Dorcas pointed.

"Yes, but because if I didn't say anything, he'd still treat me as a friend… I don't want to be his friend" Marlene explained as she put on her earrings carefully, trying not to ruin her hair.

Dorcas gave her an are-you-listening-to-yourself look and shook her head rather amused. "Mar, stop worrying, I'd bet loads of money that you'll have a great time".

"Like I said… it's easy for you to say" stated Marlene before the doorbell rang. "Oh my God!" she jumped on her place and looked at her friend with panic.

Dorcas smirked; she placed both hands on Marlene's shoulders and fixed her eyes on her. "You look beautiful as always and you're going to have a great time, okay?"

Marlene merely nodded and took a deep breath. She put on some perfume and looked at herself in the mirror one last time before grabbing her purse. "What if I cancel? You can go out and say that I'm with the flu or something".

"JUST GO" Dorcas commanded and kicked her out of the apartment.

 _Okay, that was rude._

She let out a puff of air and walked to the entrance door. Dorcas was right, she shouldn't be worrying about this date, she already knew him and she liked him. There was nothing that could go wrong. Marlene took a deep breath and swallowed before opening the door.

Sirius Black was with one hand inside his pants' pocket and with the other grabbing a bouquet of flowers. His body was leaning casually against the wall of the building and a wide grin spread across his face when she appeared.

She couldn't help to blush slightly and looked down nervously, taking her time to place the keys inside her purse before walking to him.

"You look stunning" he said and leaned to peck her cheek, making her blush even more. "These are for you", Sirius added and handed her the bouquet of soft pink flowers.

"Thank you" she smiled, "they are beautiful".

"Not as much as you, but they are pretty close" he pointed and offered her his arm. "I hope you like jazz, I made reservations on this terrific place downtown" Sirius explained as they headed towards his car.

Marlene took his arm with her heart pounding furiously against her ribs. Why was she still nervous? It was just a date. "Yes, absolutely, I love jazz" she nodded with a smile.

Sirius opened the door of his car and closed it when she got in. He then walked to the driver's seat and got in as well. He turned on the engine and drove away.

"So, how you been?" he asked casually, with his eyes on the street.

"Fine… nothing interesting had happened" she shrugged and then cleared her throat, "what about you? How was work today?"

"Oh, boring as usual" he said as if it wasn't too important.

They felt silent. Sirius drove quietly while Marlene stared at the moving people outside the car. It was weird going on a date after such a long time; it was as if she had forgotten how to act or what to say.

"Hey" Sirius called her, "don't be nervous… I don't bite" he added teasingly.

"I'm not nervous" Marlene replied so quickly that she started laughing involuntarily.

He couldn't help to shake his head in disbelief even though he was smiling. "I'm telling you… I am adorable, there's nothing you should worry about".

She continued laughing, pouring out all her nervousness. "I'm sorry" she managed to say between giggles.

"About what? Making fun of me? I'm afraid I'm quite used to it by now" Sirius replied teasingly.

"Right… poor you" Marlene smiled.

"Wow… you are really rude, Miss McKinnon"

She smirked and nodded. "Haven't you heard? I am the worst".

"You truly are" he agreed teasingly.

After that moment, Marlene's nerves vanished and she started enjoying the evening. Sirius took her to a fancy restaurant where a jazz band was playing. They ate, drink and even dance. She found out that he was an exceptional dancer and every time that his hand touched her waist, shivers ran down her spine.

If he flirted with her, she didn't notice it. Every move, every joke, every comment, was so natural that it didn't seem like a real date at all. Marlene was amazed by his behavior; he was so casual and relaxed that very quickly, she adopted that posture as well. She didn't worry about what to say or how to act; she just did what it came more naturally.

This date was the exact opposite of her first date with Andrew where the two were completely nervous and awkward. If Sirius was nervous, he hid it very well. He just made her laugh the entire evening and, much to her surprise, she found herself making him laugh as well.

Marlene learned that they came from completely different families, while her family was nice and warm and sometimes a little overprotective, Sirius' family was the opposite. She noticed the bitterness on his tone of voice when he talked about them.

"They are as Black as my last name" he laughed forcefully and turned off his cigarette.

She couldn't help to smile sadly at him and stretched out her arm, took his hand and squeeze it gently.

"I'm sorry to hear that, but you're better off without them… you don't need toxic people in your life, Sirius", she mumbled as her thumb stroked his hand.

He was surprised at her reaction but that didn't mean that he didn't appreciate it, because he did, he appreciated it a lot. "Yeah, you are right… I need more people like you in my life" he added quietly and squeezed back her hand.

Marlene felt as if her cheeks were set on fire but couldn't help to smile slightly.

When the band ended, Sirius took her home. He offered his arm and Marlene took it happily. It was a perfect night: not too cold but not too warm either. Like a gentleman, Sirius opened the car door and closed it once she was inside.

The ride back was quiet but not awkward, it was a comfortable silence. They just enjoyed the other's presence.

Marlene blinked several times when Sirius opened the door for her to come out. She was so relaxed that didn't notice her apartment in front of her eyes. She accepted his hand and grabbed the bouquet of flowers he had bought for her.

Sirius walked her to the entrance of the building and smiled. "I had a really great time".

"Yeah, me too… I really did" she replied honestly with a shy smile.

"We should go out again, what do you say?"

Marlene bit her lower lip and nodded, "I think that's a brilliant idea".

Sirius smirked and pecked her cheek, "next Saturday?"

"Sounds lovely", Marlene blushed and started looking for her keys on her purse.

He waited patiently until she opened the door and then walked back to the car with a proud smile.

She watched him leave but for some reason, something felt wrong, as if there was something missing. She didn't want him to leave, not now, not ever. Before she could even realize what she was doing, Marlene yelled, "SIRIUS! WAIT!"

His eyes traveled to her immediately and he frowned when he saw her running towards him.

"Is everything okay?" he asked worriedly

Marlene didn't reply, instead she looked at him for a brief moment and then pulled him into a deep kiss, a kiss to which Sirius replied without hesitation but quite surprised. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer while he placed his hands on her waist.

He kissed her tenderly, just flavoring her lips, those lips that he had wanted to kiss since the first day he saw her. His hands squeezed her waist and then grabbed the fabric of her navy blue jacket. Sirius felt his heart racing, his blood running faster through his veins but mostly, he felt her craving for him as he had been craving for her all this time.

She tightened her arms around his neck and pulled him as closer as she could, he was an exceptional kisser. Marlene grinned when she felt him squeezing her waist and kissed him again for a brief moment before pulling away.

"That was unexpected" he smirked, trying to catch his breath.

Her face was on fire and she couldn't help to look down, trying to hide it from him, even though she knew it was stupid. However, she felt him grabbing her chin and forcing her to look at him.

"Unexpected but amazing" Sirius added and then leaned forward to kiss her again.

Marlene kissed him back. She placed the bouquet of flowers on top of his car and moved one of her hands to his neck, she would've touched his hair but it had gel on it, so instead, she run the tip of her fingers through the little patch of naked skin that was exposed.

Sirius quivered at her touch and couldn't help to let out a soft sigh. He then wrapped her with both hands and deepened the kiss, forgetting that they were in the middle of the street.

They kissed until some random man on a bicycle whistled at them. Marlene chuckled nervously and pulled away but, much to her own surprise, she wrapped her arms around him and buried her face on the crook of his neck.

He smiled kindly and rested his cheek on the top of her head. "I didn't know you were a cuddling kitty cat".

Her laugh was muffled by his neck. Eventually she pulled away and pecked his lips briefly, "will I see you on Saturday?"

"Of course you will" Sirius nodded.

Marlene grinned childishly, grabbed her bouquet of flowers and walked away. She opened again the door of the building and, after one last smile at Sirius, closed the door.


	6. Chapter 6

Ever since that first date, Marlene and Sirius became inseparable. They saw each other almost every day. He introduced her to his cousin Andromeda and to his Uncle Alphard, the only members of his family that he actually liked.

Sirius met Marlene's family as well and they were all really nice to him. It was strange at first because he wasn't used to nice families but eventually he fit in perfectly.

A full year passed since they started dating. Marlene graduated from University and started working as a curator in an important art gallery and she couldn't be happier. She still painted from time to time, but her job took most of her time.

After the sixth month of dating, they both had emergency keys of the other's apartment. They didn't stay for the night because they weren't supposed to, but they certainly spent most of the time with the together.

"Oh, Mr. Black, thank you so much for fixing my sink last week… did Marlene gave you the cake that I baked for you?" Marlene's old neighbor, Mrs. Williamson, called him just when he was about to enter Marlene's apartment.

 _Jesus fucking Christ, not now._

"Good evening, Mr. Williamson… yes she did, it was exquisite, thank you so much… how did you know that I liked chocolate cake with whipped cream?"

The woman smiled pleased and rather flattered. "Marley told me about it… I must confess I found it quite odd at first, but after what you did for my kitchen it was the least that I could do".

"Don't mention it… I'm glad I could help" he said politely but hoping for her to leave. Sirius just wanted to be with Marlene, he had a very special plan.

"She's such a nice girl, and it's very lucky to have you, her old fiancée was nice but quite useless, if you ask me"

That was something that he didn't like. Sirius hated being compared to other people. His mother used to compare him to his brother Regulus all the time and so did his father. He certainly didn't need nor want to be compared to Marlene's dead fiancée.

Sirius shook his head, "please Mr. Williamson there's no need for comparisons… now if you excuse me, Marlene is expecting me… if you need help with your house please let me know". After saying that, he opened the door and closed it before the old lady could reply.

Good Lord! What an old hag!

The apartment was quiet, which was strange because Marlene always had the radio on. During the past weeks, she had developed a fervent interest on the situation in Germany.

Sirius removed his hat and hanged it with his jacket and started wandering around. She wasn't in the kitchen or in the living room, where she used to paint on her free time. Finally, he checked on the bedroom. His lips curved into a small smile: she was taking a nap and couldn't look more adorable.

Marlene was bundled up on her blankets and clenching to a pillow and some strings of her blonde hair were covering her face. Sirius noticed how her chest went up and down slowly; she looked so peaceful that he didn't have it on him to wake her up. Next to her were more pillows and an opened newspaper.

He decided to remove his shoes and lie down next to her. Sirius grabbed the paper and rested his back against the bed header. It seemed that Marlene was reading something about the German's troops occupying Austria.

It was an interesting article and he already knew that Marlene would probably start ranting about it during dinner. His eyes traveled through the lines and his concern about the international situation only grew bigger. It was bad, really bad indeed. Not only this mad man was invading countries but his followers were burning synagogues and destroying Jewish businesses.

Sirius was so focused on the article that flinched slightly when he felt Marlene's arm wrapping him and snuggling closer. She buried her face on his ribs and her grip on him tightened a little. After relaxing, his instant reaction was to smile. He folded the newspaper and put it aside before starting to play with her hair tenderly.

"Good morning" he said teasingly.

Marlene grunted and snuggled even closer.

"Ah, nothing better than your cheerful mood for this gloomy day" he smirked playfully. "I ran into Mrs. Williamson… she loves me".

"Everyone loves you… you're like a savior in this building" she replied with her voice muffled.

"That's understandable… I'm loveable"

Marlene pulled away and gave him a bad look. She still had a sleepy face that only made Sirius laugh loudly and leaned forward to kiss her. If there was something he was sure, was that he would never, ever, get tired of kissing her. He cupped her cheeks with both hands as she moved to place herself on top of him.

He smirked against her lips and deepened the kiss. Good Lord, how wonderful it was! His hands went to her back and started going down: her waist, her lower back and finally, her ass. Sirius squeezed it gently and his hands kept on with their journey until they made the final stop: her thighs.

She gasped against his lips and Marlene couldn't help to grab his woolen vest tightly as she felt his hands running through the length of her legs. Marlene moved one of her hands to his hair and buried his fingers there.

"Mar…" he breathed with excitement.

"Yes?" she asked teasingly, moving to kiss his jawline tenderly.

Marlene loved those steamy snogging sessions that they had and sometimes even wondered what would happen if she let things go farther. She knew she was supposed to save her virginity for the wedding night but, with Sirius, it was so damn hard to do that. He was an exceptional kisser who knew exactly what she wanted and how she wanted.

"I bloody love you" he gasped and kissed her roughly.

She couldn't help to stop rather abruptly. Marlene pulled away and looked at him stunned. The only person who had ever said 'I love you' to her was her father before he went to war. Not even her brothers or her mother and definitely not even Andrew. Sure, they were really into each other and he was a nice and kind person whom she cared deeply, but 'love'?

Marlene blinked several times before whispering rather shyly, "you do?"

He looked at her confused. "Of course I do… I thought it was pretty obvious".

She felt the fire on her cheeks and her first instinct was to look away and bit her lower lip. He loved her. Sirius Black loved her. Her heart was beating wildly, clashing furiously against her ribs. What was her stand on that issue? Marlene certainly liked and cared about him a lot. But love? Did she love him? How could she know if she was in love?

"You don't have to say that you love me back, you know that, right?" Sirius said kindly.

"How do you know?" she asked, not paying attention to what he had just said.

"I don't know" he shrugged and started thinking. "I guess it has something to do with me not wanting to be apart from you or, when we don't see each other it's like my day is… dull and kind of sad" Sirius explained casually, playing with a string of her hair. "But it also has to do with your personality… I love your silly puns about my name, or the way you glare at me when I say something stupid to piss you off… or how you face lights up when you laugh… or you cute dimples… I don't know, I guess it's a combination of those things and some others too like your eyes… bloody hell Marlene, your eyes are the most breathtaking thing that I have ever seen… your eyes and your smile".

She didn't know what to say, so instead, she just listened to him carefully as her cheeks reached a surprisingly amount of redness not ever seen before. When Sirius finished talking, she took a deep breath and looked at him. Marlene looked into his deep grey eyes and thought of what he had just said. Did all those things applied to her? Did she felt all those things about him?

Marlene didn't have to think it too much because the answer was quite obvious: hell yes.

"I… I love you too" she replied shyly and immediately buried her face on the crook of his neck, just like she always did when she was embarrassed.

He smiled quite surprised and kissed her head. "Marry me" he whispered again with his lips pressed against her blonde hair.

Her heart stopped for a moment and then started beating again so violently that she was sure he could hear it. Marlene placed a tender kiss on his neck before pulling away.

"What have you done to me?" she asked amazed.

He didn't know what to say so instead he shrugged and placed a lock of her hair behind her ear. "What do you say, would you marry me? I was supposed to ask you tonight in a fancy restaurant after drinking expensive champagne, but I couldn't wait".

Marlene smiled widely and then bursted into laughter. "Always spoiling everything, Black" she chuckled teasingly and then kissed him again. It was a short but passionate kiss, "yes, I do want to marry you".

"You are amazing" he said marveled and then half smiled smugly, "now I believe that we were in the middle of a pleasant snogging session".

She let out a soft chuckle and pressed her lips against his one more time.


	7. Chapter 7

Marlene McKinnon and Sirius Black got married the 21 of July of 1938. It was a small ceremony with their closest friends and family, which included – among others – the Potters, Sirius' cousin Andromeda and her husband Edward Tonks, his Uncle Alphard, Marlene's family, her best friend Dorcas and her new fiancée, Remus Lupin, an old friend of Sirius.

They didn't want something big; they decided to save that money to spend it on their honeymoon in France. It wasn't the type of wedding she had planned with Andrew but Marlene got the perfect waltz she had always wanted and she treasured every second of that day like gold.

Happiness and cheerfulness flooded the small place they rented for the reception. Marlene and Sirius danced so much that, soon enough, they were all sweaty but they didn't care, they were so happy that the rest seemed silly.

At the end of the day, and before leaving, Marlene threw her bouquet and Dorcas was the one to catch it. The bride winked at her best friend and then felt Sirius pulling her hand: it was time to leave.

He lifted her up like a princess and walked to the elevator of the hotel where the reception was held.

"Level 5, good man" Sirius told the operator without letting Marlene down.

"You can put me down if you want to, you know that, right?" she chuckled, noticing how the operator rolled his eyes.

Sirius noticed it too and smirked before shaking his head "are you mad? I can't do that, what if you get lost or worse, run away?" he said teasingly.

"We are already married, idiot" Marlene mumbled, rolling her eyes.

"That's not a nice way to treat your husband, Mrs. Black" he pointed even though he was still smirking.

 _Mrs. Black_

Marlene had to admit that it sounded brilliant and unavoidably, her lips curved into a small smile. She pulled his head towards hers and kissed him briefly.

Before he could even reply, the doors of the elevator opened. Sirius nodded to the operator and walked out, feeling how Marlene tightened slightly the grip on his neck and couldn't help to smile at her.

Once he reached the suite, he managed to open the door without letting his wife fall. He smirked at her and walked in, closing the door with a kick. Sirius placed Marlene gently on the floor and moved to remove his jacket.

The second her feet touched the carpet, her heart started beating too fast for her own good. She knew what was going to happen and, involuntarily, her body started trembling a little.

"Want some champagne?" Sirius asked, opening a bottle.

"No, thank you" Marlene replied quietly. She stared at her husband for a moment and then turned around and headed straight to the bathroom.

After closing the door, Marlene sat on the toilette and buried her face on her hands. Her trembling increased and she couldn't stop it even if she tried. She knew that it was stupid but she was scared, what if Sirius didn't like it? Or what if she didn't like it? What if it hurt?

Not a single person had ever seen her naked, what if he didn't like her body? Marlene didn't have a clue what to do or how it worked. Did Sirius know? Has he ever been with another girl before? What if everything changed after that night? What if he married her because he wanted to sleep with her and then just dump her? Or worse, what if he got a mistress because she wasn't good enough?

Marlene felt like she was going to be sick, her body was trembling so violently that she wanted to cry. Where did all this come from? Two minutes ago she was irradiating happiness for Christ's sake. There were soft knocks on the door and Marlene cringed.

"Mar? Love, are you alright?" Sirius asked from the other side.

 _Fuck, fuck and fuck._

"Yeah… I'm going to take a shower… I'm very sweaty" she managed to say and removed her shoes.

"Oh… okay" he said, sounding a bit confused. "Need any help?"

"No… I'm fine" she replied quickly and moving to turn on the water.

Luckily, her dress wasn't big and long. It was quite simple, so she took it off without problems. She then proceeded to remove her underwear and jewelry and stepped into the shower, pulling out the small clips of her hair.

The water ruined the perfect waves of her hair but she couldn't care less. Marlene remained under the water for a long time, trying to calm down. At first she tried to throw up but then realized it was just her nerves.

Only when she felt relaxed enough, she turned off the water.

Marlene grabbed a towel and dried herself slowly; she then wrapped the towel around her and took the brush that was resting next to the sink. She combed her hair carefully and when she finished, she looked at her own reflection.

 _Calm down, everything is going to be okay._

She took several deep breaths and swallowed with difficulty before stepping out of the bathroom.

Sirius was lying on the bed with a glass of champagne on his hand, he had removed his shoes and vest but he still had his shirt and pants on. When he caught sight of her, he immediately put the glass on the table and sat up straight.

"Is everything okay?" he asked nervously.

"Yeah" Marlene nodded but seemed unable to move from her spot.

He stared at her for a long moment before stepping up and walking towards her. "Are you sure you're okay?" Sirius asked again, only this time stroking her cheek with his thumb.

She nodded one more time but then admitted "just a bit nervous".

The man nodded understandingly and laced his fingers with hers. "I can always wait" he suggested not very thrilled with the idea but willing to do it if that was what she wanted.

"You would do that?" she asked in shock.

"Of course I would… I love you Marlene, I don't want to push you to do something you don't want to"

That was all she needed to hear. She took a deep breath and, after being hit by a wave of courage, leaned forward to kiss him. Her hand moved to his neck first and then continued to his black hair. Her heart was beating fast again, only this time was with excitement and not with fear.

Sirius blinked rather surprised but kissed her back willingly. He kissed her with passion but also with kindness as his hands grabbed her waist firmly, squeezing it every now and then. When the air became necessary, Sirius pulled away slightly and pressed his forehead against hers. "Are you sure about this?"

Instead of replying, Marlene took a step back and removed the towel off her body and let it fall to the floor.

His mouth dried instantly and his eyes widened. She was so beautiful that it was almost unfair. Sirius felt his heart racing quickly and the air got stuck in the middle of his throat as he scanned her upside down.

Her perfectly white skin seemed so soft that he had the urge of running the tip of his finger just to try it. Her blonde hair was wet and Sirius noticed a few drops of water falling slowly through her chest and stopping on her belly button. Not to mention her legs; oh boy, her long and smooth legs drove him insane.

 _Good Lord_

"You have no idea how beautiful you are" he mumbled amazed, setting his eyes on hers.

Marlene felt her cheeks turning red and, as an automatic response, she looked away, focusing on the chair where Sirius' vest and jacket were hanging. After a few seconds, she felt his lips on her neck and a soft sigh escaped from her mouth.

One of Sirius' hands was placed on her waist and the other, cupping one of her cheeks. Marlene's hands clenched tightly on his arms and shut her eyes. He then looked for her lips and, once he found them, kissed her hungrily.

She felt her knees going weak. God, this was just the beginning. As Marlene kissed him, she felt that his shirt was bothering, so she started unbuttoning it clumsily. She noticed her husband's smirk against her lips and she couldn't help to grin childishly. Once the shirt was out, Marlene removed his white cotton t-shirt and tossed it aside.

Sirius started walking backwards until his legs touched the mattress. He sat down and lifted up his gaze to see Marlene. She frowned curiously but also expectantly. His lips curved into a smugly smirk and he placed both hands at the sides of her thighs before starting a trail of kisses that went from one side of her stomach to the other.

She just couldn't believe what he was doing but it felt so good that she was not going to stop him. However, Marlene buried her fingers on his hair and couldn't help to sometimes grab it tightly, making him gasp against her skin. The way Sirius handled her was magnificent, gently but passionate.

Soon enough they were naked, lying on the mattress and panting heavily. Marlene was trying to process everything that had just happened. It was painful, but Sirius did his best to treat her with kindness and succeeded most of it. She felt him covering her with the white sheets of the bed, making her smile.

"Are you okay?" he asked quietly, running a few strings of hair away of her face.

Marlene turned and looked at him with a shy smile. "Yes, I'm fine", she said and moved to rest her cheek on his chest. Her index started tracing random figures on his naked skin while he played with her hair. "Sirius?" she asked calmly.

"Mhm?" he mumbled, with his eyes closed.

"I love you"

A wide smile spread across his lips and his arms wrapped her. "I love you too" he replied and kissed the top of her head "and I'm really glad that you agreed to marry me".

"Me too… I really am" she yawned and snuggled closer to him.

"Let's sleep a bit, love" he suggested.

Marlene nodded and closed her eyes as well. Soon enough she and Sirius were fast asleep.


	8. Chapter 8

**_September 3, 1939_**

Marlene rang the bell and waited patiently until the door opened a few moments later. A red haired woman was smiling fondly and hugged her tightly.

"I'm so glad that you came, I haven't seen you in a long time!" Lily muttered before letting her go.

"That's true, and I'm sorry, I've been quite busy with work" she apologized and stepped in, closing the door behind her.

Ever since Marlene and Sirius returned from their honeymoon, they started spending a lot of time with James and Lily Potter. She was already an old friend of James, but now she became really close with his wife too. They two ladies would have tea together and sometimes lunch.

They walked to the living room, where a tray with tea and homemade chocolate cake was waiting for them.

"So, how's the little monster behaving?" Marlene asked, looking at Lily's big baby bump.

"Better, the first months were rough... I was throwing up constantly but now it's okay" she smiled kindly and started serving tea.

"That's good to hear" Marlene smiled. "I can barely survive to my period" she laughed and took a sip of tea.

Lily laughed and grabbed a piece of cake, "well, sometimes the pain is just like that and others is far worse".

Marlene blinked rather stunned and then looked at her tea in silence. Something has been roaming around her mind for the last couple of months. She hadn't even talked about it with Sirius and she was pretty sure he didn't even know about it but it just took her sleep away.

"Is everything okay?" Lily asked frowning.

She looked at her friend and bit her lower lip. Marlene placed her cup of tea carefully on the small plate and looked at her. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course you can, Mar" the woman smiled encouragingly.

Marlene took a deep breath and started fidgeting with the fabric of her blouse. "How… how long it took you to get pregnant?" she blurted.

Lily blinked taken aback by the question. She tilted her head and started thinking. "Um… it was pretty fast, I think at the second month of our marriage or so… why you ask?"

"It's been more than a year" Marlene almost whispered. "It's not like we spoke about it but… it just doesn't happen and I'm afraid I…"

"Afraid of what?" Lily asked confused.

"What if I'm… infertile?" she whispered the last word, embarrassed by the mere thought of it. "I would be useless…"

"Wait, wait, stop there" Lily said and gave Marlene a meaningful look. "Did you go to the doctor?"

"No but… something is wrong, Lily… I mean, it's not like we didn't try"

The woman sighed and run her fingers through her hair. "Maybe you're trying too hard… sometimes things come when you least expect it".

That didn't help at all but she wasn't going to tell her that. Perhaps Lily was right and all she needed to do was to go to the doctor, maybe she was stressed; yeah, it was probably that, the stress.

Marlene opened the mouth to speak but the door bursted open and James appeared with Sirius trailing him, both looking agitated. The owner of the house went straight to the kitchen, brought the radio back and turned it on.

"King George is about to give a speech" Sirius said quickly.

James turned up the volume and placed himself behind Lily, placing both hands on her shoulders. The next moment, the King was in the air:

 _In this grave hour, perhaps the most fateful in our history, I send to every household of my peoples, both at home and overseas, this message, spoken with the same depth of feeling for each one of you as if I were able to cross your threshold and speak to you myself. For the second time in the lives of most of us, we are at war._

Lily gasped with horror and covered her mouth with her hand. Marlene closed her eyes and took a deep breath; she would be lying to herself if she didn't admit that the idea of a war didn't cross her mind.

 _Over and over again, we have tried to find a peaceful way out of the differences between ourselves and those who are now our enemies; but it has been in vain. We have been forced into a conflict, for we are called, with our allies, to meet the challenge of a principle which, if it were to prevail, would be fatal to any civilized order in the world._

Sirius was pacing nervously around the living room with his hands inside his pockets. This was bad, really bad indeed.

 _It is a principle which permits a state, in the selfish pursuit of power, to disregard its treaties and its solemn pledges, which sanctions the use of force or threat of force against the sovereignty and independence of other states. Such a principle, stripped of all disguise, is surely the mere primitive doctrine that might is right, and if this principle were established through the world, the freedom of our own country and of the whole British Commonwealth of nations would be in danger._

James was shaking his head slightly. Instinctively, he placed a hand on Marlene's shoulder and squeezed it without taking his eyes away from the radio. The girl placed her hand on top of his and kept on listening quietly.

 _But far more than this, the peoples of the world would be kept in bondage of fear, and all hopes of settled peace and of the security, of justice and liberty, among nations, would be ended. This is the ultimate issue which confronts us. For the sake of all that we ourselves hold dear, and of the world order and peace, it is unthinkable that we should refuse to meet the challenge. It is to this high purpose that I now call my people at home and my peoples across the seas, who will make our cause their own. I ask them to stand calm and firm and united in this time of trial._

Lily was sobbing silently and Marlene felt her eyes filling with tears but she wiped them away quickly, she hated when people saw her crying. She looked quickly at her husband and noticed that he was still pacing around nervously.

 _The task will be hard. There may be dark days ahead, and war can no longer be confined to the battlefield, but we can only do the right as we see the right, and reverently commit our cause to God. If one and all we keep resolutely faithful to it, ready for whatever service or sacrifice it may demand, then with God's help, we shall prevail._

 _May He bless and keep us all._

The transmission ended and the four remained in silence. Sirius stopped walking and fixed his gaze on the window. Lily kept on crying softly while James and Marlene remained on their places, unable to say anything at all. Just as if it was the cherry of the dessert, it started raining.

Sirius was the one to break the silence. Without moving from his spot he mumbled, "I think we should go home, Mar".

The woman barely nodded and stood up. She gave both James and Lily a sad smile and waved them goodbye.

The journey back home was silent as well. Neither of them said anything. Sirius just drove while Marlene stared at the window. The streets were almost empty and the ones who were outside had bitter and worried faces; not that she could blame them. She knew exactly what was going to happen next: the government was going to start recruiting people.

Sirius parked the car at the entrance of their new house and remained silent for a while, he then got off and walked fast so he could open the door quickly and Marlene didn't have to get very wet. She waited patiently and once the door was open, she ran quickly.

They headed to their bedroom and started to change into more comfortable clothes. Marlene hanged her clothes and Sirius'. When she finished, she looked at him. He was sitting at the edge of the bed, with his elbows placed on his thighs and his hands were rubbing his face.

A soft sigh escaped her lips and she approached to him. Without saying anything, she sat next to him and rested her head on his shoulder before kissing it.

Sirius looked for one of her hands and laced his fingers with hers. "We live in a shitty world" he mumbled, stroking her hand with his thumb.

"I know", Marlene agreed bitterly and moved to sit on his lap. She wrapped his neck with one arm and rested her forehead on his temple.

They remained in silence, just submerged in their own thoughts. The only sound came from the rain outside that had intensified. The drops of water were hitting the window harder and harder.

What was going to happen next? Was there any hope at all?

Almost as a reflex, her grip on him tightened and Marlene felt him leaning his head slightly against her.

"I'm scared" she barely whispered.

Sirius pulled away and kissed her cheek. He didn't say a single word; instead, he buried his face on the crook of her neck. Marlene sighed and swallowed back her tears. She knew her husband too well and if he didn't say anything to cheer her up, could only mean that he was as scared as she was.


	9. Chapter 9

The storm had covered the skies of London. It was raining so hard that Marlene thought that there was a strong possibility that the Thames would flood the entire city. Three months passed since she heard the announcement on the radio. During that time, men started receiving letters, letters that recruited them to join the army. Luckily, neither of her loved ones got one and she was pretty confident that they wouldn't get it.

She ran through the streets until she reached the bus stop and placed herself under a small roof . That morning, on her way to work, her umbrella broke so basically, she was now soaking wet.

The bus took fifteen minutes to come and once she got in, it was packed with people. Marlene couldn't believe her lack of fortune; she was having a really lousy day: her boss was giving her more work than usual and, of course, the mere thought of a raise was out of the question.

Forty minutes later, Marlene was getting off the bus and running straight to her house. Sirius' car was parked in the garage so that meant that he was already home. She opened the door quickly and tossed her keys onto the small table. She removed her shoes and walked straight to the kitchen. On her way, the telephone started ringing.

"Sirius, could you get that, love?" she exclaimed.

However, he didn't reply. Maybe he was asleep, Marlene thought and ran straight to the telephone that wouldn't stop ringing.

"Hello?" she said, removing her wet jacket.

"Oh Marley, thank God it's you!" the crying voice of her mother replied.

"Mum?" Marlene asked confused. "Mum, what's wrong? Why are you crying?" she inquired worryingly.

"Oh, Marley" her mother sobbed loudly. "B-Ben… he g-got the le-letter" she cried "and s-so d-did M-Mark!"

The telephone fell from her hand and it bounced against the kitchen floor. Marlene took it quickly, feeling how her eyes started watering. "It's going to be okay, mum" she whispered with a cracking voice.

Her mother didn't reply, instead she kept on crying while Marlene did the same. Her head was pressed against the wall and all she could do was sob uncontrollably.

"I just thought you should know" he mother sniffed after several minutes, "we'll talk later, okay?"

"Yeah" Marlene replied hoarsely and hang up, not even bothering on saying goodbye.

She put her wet shoes on the laundry room and went upstairs, still crying. Once she reached the bedroom, Marlene found Sirius sitting at the edge of their bed with his head between his hands. She couldn't help to frown worried.

"Hey, what's wrong?" she asked still crying.

Sirius looked up and misery was all that Marlene saw. She tried to wipe her tears away and move towards him. "What's wrong?" she asked again, trembling slightly due to the wetness of her body.

He cupped her face with both hands and wiped the tears away before kissing her briefly. "Why are you crying?" he asked and then realized that she was soaking wet. "Come on, let's take a shower" Sirius said tiredly.

All she could do was nod and followed her husband to the bathroom. While Sirius turned on the shower, Marlene started getting undress, still crying and shivering.

"Get inside" he ordered while he removed his clothes "it's already hot".

She obeyed and placed herself under the hot water and it felt like a true blessing. As the water poured down, Marlene did her best to relax and stop crying. She was facing the wall but felt Sirius' presence behind her.

"What happened?" she asked.

"Throw your head back" he ordered "otherwise you'll get shampoo in your eyes".

Once again, she obeyed. "Sirius, what happened?"

He started massaging her head carefully. "Why where you crying?" he asked.

Her body relaxed visibly when he started massaging her skull. However, she noticed how he was avoiding the topic and that worried her. He always told her everything, why would he start hiding things now?

"Ben and Mark were recruited" she said almost as a whisper and moved straight to the shower, to remove the shampoo from her head.

"I'm sorry" he said, but there was something on his voice, something that Marlene knew she had to fear.

"Sirius…" Marlene started.

He made her turn around again and applied conditioner to the end of her hair. He wasn't ready to tell her, not yet. Sirius grabbed the soap and started rubbing Marlene's naked skin, pretending not to hear her complains.

When they were done, he turned off the water and wrapped his wife with a towel. Sirius then did the same and, with a small towel, started drying his hair while Marlene did the same.

She grabbed her brush, sat on the toilette and started combing her hair. Sirius was too quiet and that scared the hell out of her. He was usually the one to make conversations; in fact, Marlene was surprised that he didn't try to have sex with her on the shower. When she lifted up her gaze to ask him for the millionth time what the hell was going on, he wasn't there anymore.

Okay, now she was pissed. Marlene stood up rather abruptly and stormed to her bedroom.

Sirius was sitting on the bed, not doing anything at all, just staring at the floor.

"Sirius… what the fuck is going on? I am having a really shitty day and you acting like this, is not helping at all!"

Instead of saying something, Sirius sighed as he grabbed a piece of paper that was on the bed and gave it to her.

Marlene snatched it from his hand and started reading. When she finished, she looked up to her husband who was looking at her with caution. She started shaking her head very slowly and, as the paper fell from her hands, the first tear ran down her cheek quickly followed by the second and so.

Sirius watched at his wife for a brief moment before pulling her into a tight hug.

"It's going to be alright" he mumbled quietly.

Her body didn't respond, the only thing she was able to do was started crying again. "How could it be alright, Sirius?" she asked frustrated and then added "you've been recruited! Tell me how that is ever going to be alright?!"

For the first time, Sirius didn't have an answer. Marlene was right. He kissed the top of her head and remained with his lips pressed against her hair. "I don't know, but I promise it's going to be okay".

Marlene shook her head against his chest but didn't say anything, she just kept on crying. She couldn't help to wonder why, whenever she was being happy, something like this had to happen. First Andrew and now Sirius – not to mention her brothers – maybe she was meant to be miserable forever.

"Can we move somewhere else? Maybe South America?" she asked even though she already knew the answer.

Sirius smiled fondly and stroked her hair tenderly. "I promise you, everything is going to be okay".

"I don't want you to go" she sniffed against his chest. Her arms wrapped around his waist and she remained there, just crying.

He sighed tiredly and dragged them to the bed. Sirius sat down and made her sit on his lap. His hand traveled to her back and started rubbing it softly and he let her cry, she could take all the time she needed it to.

Marlene wrapped her arm around him and buried her face on the crook of his neck. "Please don't go" she sobbed quietly, feeling her body shaking but not being able to do anything about it "please, stay".

"You know I can't do that, love" Sirius mumbled softly, rubbing her back soothingly. "Even if I wanted to, I have to go" he sighed.

"But it's not fair!" she cried angrily. "You, my brothers… this is not _fucking_ fair!"

"I know it's not, love… but it is what it is" he said, running his fingers though her wet hair.

"What if something happens? What if…"

"No" he interrupted her sharply. "Nothing is going to happen, I promise you that".

How could he be so sure that nothing was going to happen? He was going to the bloody war, for Christ's sake!

Sirius kissed her temple and started rubbing her arm soothingly. "This will all be over soon" he mumbled, not very sure about it.

Marlene knew that he didn't believe anything of what he was saying, but she also knew that he was trying his best to make it better so she didn't have in her to contradict him. She whipped her tears with the back of her hand and did her best to stop crying. She didn't want to make this harder for Sirius than it already was.

When she stopped crying, Sirius grabbed her hand and placed a soft kiss on the palm. He then removed a string from her hair and placed it behind her ear. Her face was red and puffy and it broke his heart, he hated to see her like that. Sirius kissed her temple tenderly and laced their fingers.

"Do you want to eat something?" he asked kindly.

Marlene shook her head. "No, I'm not hungry" she mumbled and stood up. She made her way to her closet, feeling her husband's eyes on her but she tried not to pay attention. She put on her underwear followed by her pajamas.

When she returned to the bed, Marlene opened it and got into, covering herself with the blankets. Several minutes later, she felt Sirius' arms wrapping her body and pulling her closer. She didn't complain, quite the opposite, she was glad that he was still there.


	10. Chapter 10

Two weeks later, Marlene was standing in front of a train, waiting for Sirius who was putting away his belongings. She felt miserable. The station was crowded with people greeting their loved ones. There was a mother saying goodbye to her sons, a father kissing his little girl's forehead while his wife cried silently.

She felt a lump forming in her throat. How many of these men were going to return? How many were going to die? It would be extremely naïve of her to think that all of them would survive.

"Will you send me your drawings?" a man asked to his five year old daughter.

The little girl nodded shyly and threw her arms to her father, who grabbed her tightly.

Chills went down her spine and Marlene couldn't help to fold her arms against her chest tightly. She hoped, she really did, that the man returned safe and sound. Her eyes traveled to the wife and she could help to frown, she looked as miserable as she was.

"Promise you'll be safe" a woman cried against her husband's chest.

"I promise" the man replied with his lips glued to her head.

There was so much pain and misery on the atmosphere that Marlene did a great effort to swallow back her tears. She had promised to herself that she was not going to cry, not in front of Sirius at least. She looked at her wrist watch and sighed, ten minutes left.

Where was he?

Marlene couldn't help to wonder how it was going to be once he was gone. How long before he return? Because he _was_ going to return. He had promised her that he would and Sirius always kept his promises.

She felt a hand on her shoulder and couldn't help to flinch slightly.

"I'm sorry" Sirius mumbled and squeezed her shoulder.

Marlene shook her head and wrapped her arms around him and buried her face on the crook of his neck. She was not going to let him go until the last second. She needed to feel him close because only God knew how long it would be until she saw him again.

 _That is if you actually see him again._

Sirius hugged her tightly and pressed his lips against her blonde hair that he loved so much. He tried to remember every single detail of that moment: her scent, the texture of her skin that he already knew by heart, how her warm breath send shivers down his spine, her hair and her nails that were practically dug against his back.

"Promise you will write me" she mumbled, tightening the grip around him.

"I will" he nodded as his hand started rubbing her back gently. "You promise you won't get a new husband while I'm away" he teased.

Marlene slapped his arm playfully. "You are an idiot" she said with a tiny smile.

"Those aren't nice words, Mrs. Black" he said chuckled and moved to kiss her temple.

"I think you knew right from the start that I wasn't very nice" she smirked and kissed his neck.

Sirius pulled away and tilted his head with a slight frown. "Actually, when I first met you I thought you were quite adorable" he pointed out, placing both hands on her neck and stroking her cheeks with his thumbs. "I _still_ think you are adorable" he mumbled and kissed her lips.

How the hell did he manage to still make her blush? They were married for Christ's sake. Her hands ran up his arms and, when he kissed her, she kissed him back. She sensed the bitter taste of goodbye and did her best not to cry.

 _Not now, don't do this to him, he doesn't deserve it._

"Please be careful" she mumbled quietly.

"I will, love" he replied, placing a string of her blonde hair behind her ear. "I just got married to you, I have loads of things planned for us" he added, and kissed her cheek.

Boy, how much he was going to miss her! He couldn't believe how fucked up destiny was and how unfair was that he, after all this time, had to go to war with no guarantees of coming back.

"When I return, we'll go somewhere nice" he promised. "Maybe the States… does New York sounds good?" he smiled kindly.

Marlene hugged him again. "As long as you return soon, we'll go wherever you want" she mumbled, tightening her grip on him. "That's all I want" she barely whispered "your return".

"I know. That's all I want too" he agreed and kissed her head.

They remained in silent until the clock strike 12 and the sound of the train flooded the whole station. Marlene's grip on him tightened even more and she felt how the air started running out of her lungs. She didn't want to let him go.

"No" she whispered "no".

Sirius swallowed with difficulty and pulled away reluctantly. He noticed the panic on her face and all he was able to do was kiss her. Sirius kissed Marlene like he had never kissed her before. He poured all of his heart and soul into it. He wanted, no, _he needed_ Marlene to understand how much he loved her.

She kissed him back with desperation, clinging to every second of that kiss and trying to remember it very well. Only God knew if she was going to kiss him again. Her eyes were stinging and Marlene knew, at that moment, that she was about to break her promise.

He pulled away and cupped her cheeks with both hands, pressing his forehead against hers. "I love you. You hear me? I love you".

"I love you two" she mumbled, grabbing his wrists tightly. "I love you so much" she whispered with her lower lip trembling.

"Good" he stated before kissing her one last time.

"Please, take care"

"I will" he nodded and kissed her forehead before letting her go.

Marlene pressed tightly her fingers against her lips. Involuntarily, the tears started to fall as Sirius got into the train. All she could do was remain in her place until he appeared in one of the windows. She walked straight to him, not even bothering on whipping the tears away; she knew it would all be in vain. Marlene stretched out her hand to grab Sirius'.

"I'm sorry" she sniffed "I didn't want you to see me like this".

Sirius shook his head and kissed her hand. "Everything is going to be okay, love… I made you a promise" he said soothingly, stroking her knuckles with his thumb.

"I know, it's just…" she started saying but immediately felt Sirius' hand tightening on hers as the train slowly started moving. Immediately, she started walking, feeling how the air started to run out of her lungs. "Take care" she sniffed "and write me".

"I love you" he said before letting go of her hand.

"I love you too" she exclaimed as the tears ran down her face and the train moved away in front of her eyes. Her hands covered her face and Marlene started crying.

Sirius watched, with a broken heart, how his wife became smaller and smaller. When the station finally disappeared, he leaned back on his seat and sighed tiredly while rubbing his face with both hands.

It was going to be tough.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N:** Hi! So, this is the final chapter! I just wanted to say **thank you sooo much** to all of you who read it and sent me those lovely messages! I've read them all, but I'm quite useless and I still don't fully understand how this site works so I wasn't sure how to reply. But anyways, thank you soooooo much :) I'm not sure when I'm going to write another long fic like this, but I may post some long drabbles. However, if any of you wants to read anything else that I write or contact me or whatever, you can always check **my blackinnon blog.** Having said that, here we go!

One day. Two days. Three days. Four, five, six and seven days. A week. Two weeks. Three weeks. A month. Day after day, Marlene forced herself to wake up, brush her teeth, eat breakfast and head off to work.

Some days were better than others, but every single one of them she pushed herself to put a smile on her face and carry on as if Sirius had never left. Of course, she never spoke about him even though that was the only thing she could think of. During the day, she would plan carefully a long detailed letter that she would write to him as soon as she arrived home and deliver it when she headed to work the following day.

For every ten letters that she sent, she received only one from him in return. She didn't care, writing to him made her day less painful and she knew that he appreciated it. Or at least that's what he said.

The only moment when she didn't write was during the Blitz. During the time Germany bombed England.

The first bomb fell not too far from her working place and she received strict instructions of what to do. As soon as she was free to go, Marlene fled to Scotland and remained there for a whole year. She stayed with her family until it was safe to return to London. During that time, she wrote to Sirius whenever she could, which wasn't very often since her mother was keen on making her do different things in order to distract her.

The time passed painfully slowly: seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months and years. Her birthdays, his birthdays, Christmas, New Year's eve, Easters and even Valentine's day.

Marlene stilled missed Sirius just like the first day and her insights twisted with agony whenever she saw bad news on the paper. She never admitted it to anyone, but every single night, she cried herself to sleep. Marlene cried until there were no more tears left, until she was too tired to keep on crying.

Even though Sirius' letters were kind of comforting, it was still tough. He assured her that he wasn't in a risky area; that he mainly did rounds but nothing ever happened. Still, Marlene rather have him with her at home than there, but she couldn't complain. There were many people having a far worse time than hers, at least she knew that Sirius was safe… well, or sort of.

When she got back to London, Marlene tried to focus on the small details: to water the plants, to clean the house, to do the groceries and she even decided to teach herself how to cook.

Sometimes she had good days and others… not so good, but she always managed to pull herself together. Her first ray of actual hope was when the States declared the war to Germany. Marlene knew that it would be a matter of time before the war ended. She knew that the part that the States played was vital.

It was just another regular and dull day. The skies of London were, as usual, grey. It was probably going to rain. Marlene was ironing her clothes and the radio was on.

" _Forgive me Robert for this interruption but there are breaking news regarding the war. The Allies had successfully invaded France who has been under German control since 1940"_

Marlene's heart skipped a few beats and she stopped ironing for a moment. She listened to the men in the radio explaining what had happened and she couldn't help to smile slightly. These were good news. No, these were _excellent_ news. With France recovered, everything was slowly starting to fall back into their right places.

The first one to return was her brother Benjamin. War had changed him; he was no longer the cheerful and warm young boy that he used to be. No, he was distant and rather cold. He was jumpy and it seemed that everything was an attack towards him.

No one in her family talked about it. How could they? They couldn't possibly imagine what Ben had been through so who were they to say anything?

Five months later, it was Mark's turn to return. Again, it was not Mark. The old Mark was now gone. He was surprisingly quiet. He barely spoke and that broke Marlene's heart.

She would sit on the table and see how Ben was constantly looking around as if someone was going to attack him and then Mark, who looked exactly like a ghost. He didn't speak nor eat. She was really surprised that he actually moved at all.

It caused real physical pain to see her brothers like that and, of course, Marlene couldn't help to wonder how Sirius was doing. The mere idea of him returning as a different person sent shivers down her spine. What if he ended up like Ben? Snapping at anyone who addressed him. Or like Mark? Marlene was sure she wouldn't take it if Sirius stopped talking to her.

As the days passed, she grew more and more worried about her brothers and Sirius. Marlene saw, with the tears forming in her eyes, how her parents took care of Mark and Ben as if they were kids. They took them everywhere. They even took them to see a therapist but, according to him, the results were not immediate.

Marlene started visiting her parents more often. Twice a month, she would take a train to Scotland and stay there for a few days. Normally she would've gone once every two or three months, but her brothers needed her now and so did her parents.

The time kept on passing and even though her brothers seemed to be getting better, this time it was her turn to get worse. Her insecurities about Sirius were consuming her badly. The nightmares that used to be of Sirius dying now changed to him arriving home and not recognizing her or telling her that he didn't loved her anymore, that he met a nurse who was better than her in every possible way.

And finally, the day came. Marlene was in her house, listening to the radio as usual, when she saw the letters appearing underneath her door. She unplugged the iron and walked to grab the letters.

Bills, bills, more bills, a letter from her mother and then, her heart stopped: it was _his_ handwriting, Sirius handwriting. Marlene walked back to the kitchen and sat on a chair. She placed all the envelopes on the table and opened Sirius' with trembling hands.

 _Dear Marlene,_

 _I'm returning home. The 29_ _th_ _I'll be in Paris and from there I'll take a train to London. I believe I'll be arriving on the 30_ _th_ _. Hope everything is well._

 _I love you,_

 _Sirius_

Marlene read the letter at least ten times before placing it carefully on the table. She wasn't sure how to feel. Happy, of course. But there was something that felt wrong. Maybe it was the way he wrote the letter, or the length of it. Sirius letters always had, at least, two pages. This one barely had a paragraph and Marlene couldn't help to feel it rather cold.

She looked at the calendar and couldn't help to gasp with surprise. Today was 29th, so he was arriving the following day and Marlene felt a knot forming in her stomach. Tomorrow… he was arriving tomorrow. She had been waiting for him for almost five years and he was arriving _tomorrow_.

All of her worries should be gone and replaced by pure joy and happiness, but there was something inside of her that didn't leave her alone. She spent the whole night without being able to close her eyes. Sirius was on his way back home, he was safe. Yet, there was something that Marlene felt wrong. Maybe it was her tendency to think the worst of everything? Probably it was, she couldn't help it; it was stronger than her.

By the time her alarm rang, Marlene was already up, her eyes wide open and feeling a tight knot in her stomach. She got up and headed straight to the bathroom. She turned on the shower and got undress uncommonly slow. For a moment, it reminded her of her wedding night, when she was so scared that Sirius might reject her.

Marlene massaged her skull carefully, tracing slow circles with her fingers. The hot water was supposed to wash away all her nerves but it didn't do anything. Once she was done, she turned off the water and wrapped her body in a large white towel. She combed her wet hair and brushed her teeth before heading back to her room.

She had already picked up her clothes, nothing too special, just a grey skirt with a white blouse. Marlene got dressed and put on the pearls that Sirius had given her for their first anniversary. She drank a bit of her tea and forced herself to eat something before finally leaving the house.

The train station was packed with people – mostly wives and children – gathering together and taking a peek to see if the train was coming. Marlene walked to a bench and sat next to a woman who was probably around her age. She was alone, just like her.

"The train will arrive any minute now" the woman said, not to anyone in particular.

Marlene nodded. "Yes" she agreed. "Are you waiting for your husband?" she asked, looking at the wedding ring on her finger.

The woman looked at Marlene and shook her head. "No, my husband died in war" she said quietly. "I just like coming here and see everyone's faces… all the happiness" she mumbled distractedly as a pair of kids started playing in front of them. "I'm thinking on writing a book about it".

"I'm sorry" Marlene mumbled, slightly taken aback by her attitude.

The woman shook her head "it's okay".

There was a loud voice that came out of the speakers that echoed through the whole station. " _The train that comes from Paris will arrive to Platform 5 in five minutes_ ".

Marlene jumped slightly on her place and stood up abruptly. Five minutes, she was going to see Sirius in five minutes. The woman smiled at her "I recommend you stand up in a bench, that way you'll distinguish him faster".

Marlene nodded with a fainted smile "thank you".

The woman shook her head. "Go, I can already see the train from over here".

She nodded and smiled at her before rushing towards the platform. Marlene looked for a bench and stood up. All the women and their kids were there, trying to see if they spotted their husbands and fathers. Excitement flooded the station, excitement and anxiety. Everyone was looking forward to be reunited with their loved ones.

The train finally stopped and so did Marlene's heart as the doors opened and the soldiers started coming out of it. There were screams, laughs and cries. She saw women crying, children crying and even men crying. She couldn't blame them, she was sure she was going to cry as well.

Her eyes scanned the place, looking for him impatiently. Marlene tried to focus on the tallest men since Sirius was pretty tall. They were different types of hugs: fathers hugging their children, husbands hugging their wives, mothers hugging their sons and group hugs.

And then, she saw him: handsome as ever.

"SIRIUS" she screamed from the top of her lungs before launching herself into the sea of people. Marlene started running, blinded by her own tears, towards him, pushing everyone aside, muttering lames 'sorry' and 'excuse me'. She ran for what it felt like ages until she saw him, tiptoeing to see if he could spot her.

Marlene stopped for a moment, panting heavily and her heart beating wildly. "Sirius" she barely whispered and was really surprised when he turned to face her. Her legs started moving and before she could reach him, her hand let go of her purse that fell to the floor at the same time that his suitcase touched the cement of the station.

To say that Marlene threw herself at him was not getting the full picture; she literally jumped towards him, not giving a damn about all the people who were watching. She buried her face on the crook of his neck and started crying uncontrollably, releasing all the stress that she had been gathering all those years. "I've missed you so much" she sobbed, holding tightly to him and not letting him go for anything in the world.

Sirius froze for a moment but then relaxed visibly and wrapped his arms around her waist. He didn't say anything, he just appreciated the moment. Bloody hell, how much he had missed her. Her blonde hair was as soft as he had remembered and her scent… _God_ , her scent! She still smelled like jasmines with a glimpse of vanilla. _Jesus Christ_ , he thought, tightening his arms around her for a moment only to then release her.

He stared at Marlene in silence before cupping her cheeks with both hands and kissing her deeply. Sirius felt his knees going weak and, for a moment, he thought that he was going to fall down. Fortunately, he didn't so he kept on kissing her. Showing her how much he had missed her all those years and how much he loved her because he truly did. Sirius loved Marlene so much that she was the main reason that he didn't lose his mind at war, because the mere idea of coming back and not being able to love her as much as he did before parting was just too painful to even imagine.

Sirius pulled away for a moment and pressed his forehead against hers. Marlene was still crying but he didn't care, he was just _so_ happy to be there with her. "You have no idea how much I love you" he mumbled and kissed her again for a brief moment. "I love you so bloody much" Sirius whispered, his thumbs stroking her cheeks tenderly.

Marlene let out a loud sob mixed with laughter. "Not more than I love you" she managed to say. Her hands touched his arms, she wanted to be absolutely sure that he was there, safe and sound and with her.

Sirius pecked her lips again and grabbed his suitcase and her purse that where on the floor. He handed her the purse and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. He pulled her into another kiss and smiled. "Come on, love, let's go home" he said "it's been a long ride".

She wrapped one of her arms around his waist and nodded. The twosome started walking away from the station, ready to catch up with everything and excited to begin with their new lives.


End file.
